BACKGROUND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 728

Rapid Development
In addition to the Cariboo Wagon Road, other trails opened up more of the province in the
early 1860s. The Hope-Princeton and Dewdney Trails into the Kootenays led to settlement
in British Columbia's eastern regions. Salmon canning was also developed in the 1860s,
and several canneries on both the lower Fraser and Skeena Rivers had the world market in
their pockets. (You can still see one of the old canneries near Prince Rupert today.)
It wasn't until 1862 that Burrard Inlet—site of today's city of Vancouver—sprang onto
the map with the building of a small lumber mill on the north shore. The region's tall,
straight trees became much in demand. More lumber mills started up, and a healthy export
market developed in only a few years. Farmers began to move into the area, and by the end
of the 1860s a small town had been established. “Gassy Jack” Deighton started a very pop-
ular saloon on the south shore of Burrard Inlet near a lumber camp, and for some time the
settlement was locally called Gastown. After the town site was surveyed in 1870, the name
was changed to Granville. Then, in 1886, the town was officially renamed Vancouver, in
honor of Captain George Vancouver. At this time, New Westminster was the official cap-
ital of the colony of British Columbia, much to the concern and disbelief of Vancouver
Islanders, who strongly believed Victoria should have retained the position. Two years later,
with the mainland gold rushes over, the capital reverted to Victoria, where it has remained
ever since.
Confederation and Beyond
The next big issue to concern British Columbia was confederation. The eastern colonies
had become one large dominion, and BC residents were invited to join. London and Ottawa
both wanted British Columbia to join, to assist in counterbalancing the mighty U.S. power
to the south. After much public debate, the southwesternmost colony entered the Confed-
eration as the Province of British Columbia in July 1871—on the condition that the West
Coast be connected to the east by railway. Many roads were built during the 1870s, but it
was the completion of the transcontinental railway in 1885 that really opened up British
Columbia to the rest of the country. Other railways followed, steamships plied the lakes and
rivers, more roads were built, and industries—including logging, mining, farming, fishing,
and tourism—started to develop.
During the 20th century, British Columbia moved from roads to major multilane high-
ways, from horses to ferries, and from gold mining to sportfishing. Yet it still attracts ex-
plorers—backcountry hikers and mountain climbers in search of untrammeled wilderness,
plenty of which remains.